When we imagine a service animal, the first thing is usually comes to mind is a dog helping a blind person navigate their daily life. Otherwise, we might imagine the similar therapy or emotional support animals that help people overcome serious traumas.
But it turns out that there are a variety of ways that service dogs can help people with disabilities and many of them are easy to forget until you’re actually in a position to require one yourself.
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And that’s why one woman is sharing what a major difference her service dog makes in both the physical and psychological aspects of her life.
Since October of 2020, a woman in the U.K. named Nadine Crossley has uploaded TikToks detailing her life with her service dog, Nessie.
As Crossley explained in one of her videos , she has a condition called postural tachycardia syndrome.
According to Johns Hopkins , this can be caused by abnormal blood pooling below the heart and results in fainting, dizziness, and other symptoms when a patient is sitting upright or walking for too long.
This syndrome is at the heart of why Crossley spends some of her time in a wheelchair and why Nessie helps with a lot small activities in her life.
As we can see in this video, that includes helping her dress and undress, bringing items to and from her, and pushing door-opening buttons when needed.
But as Crossley showed in another video, she also trained Nessie to pass her laundry from the basket so she can minimize the number of times she needs to bend over, which would otherwise aggravate her condition.
Crossley has also made it clear that Nessie is just as important to her psychological needs as her physical ones.
This is because she is also living with borderline personality disorder and ADHD. In another video , Crossley said that Nessie is trained to recognize her moods and to intervene whenever she is engaging in harmful habits.
As she puts it in the video we see here, “She interrupts behaviours I struggle with.”
But while Crossley considers Nessie a life-saving presence for her, she also sees her as a trusted friend.
And so as we can see here, Crossley rewards Nessie for the important work she does with plenty of treats and playtime.
Even the most dedicated service animal needs to have some fun, right?
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